Rearview mirror



Dec. 5, 1944. s s 2,364,165

REAR VIEW MIRROR Filed May 1, 1942 door and hood thereof! mdlding; I r

Itis another objectofithe invention to .provide 1 i Patented Dec. 5,1944

nEmmEw MIRROR Lowell Sarnes, jD earborn Mih, assignor to Monarch Governor. Oomnany Detroit; Mieh;.,a'

The present invention relates to' rearrzgti'ew mirrors' and partiouleirly to err improved rear mobilenbodybyf 'screw endi'dowelumeansi A further object of'ztheseir'ivention iszzto provide view mirror assembly/"attachable tottheu outside of a 1 motor vehicle body at'the sidevof the"cowl or hood thereof in advance of the front door.

In accordance with conventionatl' construction certain motor vehicle bodisg-awbel-t li ne= molding 'or heading is provided aboiit portions of the exterior of the body chiefly for decorative *purposes; This molding or-beading is usnally in sections extending in abutting relvtion elong the body so' as lto give the effect or appearance-of a continuous molding; I have found that the height and position of this moldingj 'are such as to permit the rear View mirrortb be mounted advantageonsly at the "loea-lity of onesection" oifthe molding especially at a point in'j'edvance' of theirontdoor of an" automobile hetween tl'ie "Plans; inthe" i stance adepteditorbe imonntedvintozoositionwn :the anteaidevicer of the: foregoing; character: having a sheetvmetai "bases whioheis: adapted itoareplaoext a portion are aai belt i-ilin-e .rmoldingi and"; to: rbei held in piece by thensamezorspart ofi the sametfasterrin'gs meansrutilized" to retain :in: place-'suoh portion of themolding-* sojthat no additi'onal -aper- 'tures on" other alterations thee vehiole body needihemade infiordentoxinstall the=devices i A further ohjectot the inventiomis'xto provitle ae mirror' irssembly=-* of the foregoing character having an; improved b'ase formed and? designed F to replace wseotion of the-belt 'lihe" molding said A baseby a so-rev'or-screwswhichareinaccessible whenb the: bases is mounted in positionoI-rthe automobilevbody; thus preyenting'theft-ofthe of the body in advance" of the f ron'tfdo or, aki seotion of the belt' line molding'or the equitaleritin appearance may be" used'las a, support fdrjlthe mirror; This avoidsthe necessity-of attaching the mirror to. the .upper outside ihinglepormthez iront m'a rgina l ,eenge of the. dooras has 'been customary; Iirgtheoeseof"oars "having concealed front door hinges, ,thisf provide. an" immeavailable where the doors. hinges are fconoealed.

It is the principal Mohj'eot' ofitlie present inven- "assemolyand arm eniber adeptedto'form or take the: place ofie seotion for: the belt line molding are combined: mounted direotly upoii the exterior "01 "at-vehicle body-"end? whiohiisgfefterrmounting, adeptedxto i3orm" a. harmonious pert; of: the] said be1t-1ihe a mirror deyioe offthe foregoing character having e: base comprising an actual section of ithe epritinuous heltgline -mol'dihg, or; awdupglicated section thereof? saidf; devijoel having; a; separate *tour' ofthefbelttmolding, i i i t i I" Ai'iotherobject of the ii vent'ion is to provide a: "mirror" device of the foregoing oharaoteri hawaghasefleompriSinQL-an flCtllaLOll duplicated section 0f the continuous belt line; molding or inner? end toifconform .snbstentiellyi. to the: coni the vehicle body, saidldeviceflhevingea separate arm? ette ched to the base screw means; and

fan'df one which 1 is adepted to he Itf is still another object of invention to a'oter which may be easilyinstalled;gonewhidh is icomiiaet" in structure; attractive in appearance 3 and adapted for use on" a: conventional vehicle .body. i j Other-objects of this invention will 1* appear *in v n thefol-lowingdesoription' and-appended. claims,

reference being had tothe acoompanying;dra.w-- ing forming apart :of this specification wherein like reference characters"desi gnate corresponding parts in the several views;

Fig. 1 .is'e; frag-mentarysi'de elevationlview'of a Vehicle: body" showing; i the 1 present invention applied thereto; i

Fig; 2 is ahenlarged plan' view partlyjin Lseetion illustrating oneiiembodiment of'theq inven- -tion. i i Fig.1 3"is. a,n;enla,rged sectionafview taken along the lines 3 of v Fig.

2f IOOki ng in the direction of the arrows. i

Fig, 4. is afviewjsomewhat;similerwto FieQz illustrating another embodimentuofthe in vention; r a'rmattachedat its inner end toithembase rsuch I as by screw and'dowelmeanstandlshaped at said Figstfi; Giand fflaii'e iragmenteryseotionat views illustrating belt. line I molding, jhase, sectionsof [Fig 8 ,isan lenlrgd lview in elevation: ill-use Beforeiexplarining int-detail .thefipresentiinven tion itiis'cto berunderstoodt that thew invention is limited. in its application tof the details? of construction. anal.- arrangement :ofpartsfiiliusF trated in the accompanying drawing, since the invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or carried out in various ways. Also it is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.

In the embodiment of the invention herein shown the, mirror assembly comprises in general a separate metallic attaching plate or'strip II to which a mirror unit designated in general by reference numeral I2 is fixed. On being applied to the vehicle body as shown in Fig. l, the present mirror assembly is particularly adapted to replace The embodiment shown in Fig. 4 is substan- "tially the same as the above described embodior take the place of a section of the beltv line molding I3, especially thatsection normally fixed to the cowl portion of the vehicle body, and is preferably adapted to utilize part of or the same fastening means otherwise u'sedto retain'that section in-place. However, it is to be/under stood that the assembly may form a continuous part of a belt line molding having no removable section and may be attached directly to the moldin'g at the desired location. I

Theattaching plate II is preferably metallic in structureand is shaped to appear like the particular belt line molding I3 with which its use is contemplated and it follows, therefore, thatit may comprise an actual section of the continuous belt line molding. The platev II may have one .of many designs and finishes dependentupon its intended use.; In length, plate II is made suitable to replace a given removable section of the belt line molding I3, especially that. section normally applied to the cowlportion of the vehicle body. Consequently, the lengthof the;

plate may also vary, dependent upon the particular .use to which the mirror assembly is put.

As shown in Fig. 2, the base II comprises s.

pressed metal shell. or channel piece which is adapted to receive along its inner surfaces armetallic backing plate or reinforcing bar I4 having a surface shaped, to conform substantially to. the shape of the. inner bottom surface of the base II. The bar I4 has sufficient thickness to .give rigidity to the base II .so as to adequately y support the mirror arm I5 at the same time to provide a supporting means forattaching elemerits by which the base assembly is secured to the exterior of the vehicle body I0. v In the preferred embodiment the \mirror sup-.

porting arm I5 is shaped at its innerend to fit the outer face of the base member II and is keyed thereto by means of two'studsl I5 and a screw 2|. Intheassembled position of the base and arm each of the studs or dowel pins I6 extends integrally from the innerend of the arm l5 through correspondingly shaped apertures I'I formed in the wall of the base II thence into blindly terminating correspondinglyshaped holes or recesses I8 formed in the reinforcing bar I4. The inner end of the arm I5 is further provided with a blindly threaded aperture or tapped hole I9 adapted to register with apertures Ila and 2!] of the base plate II and reinforcing bar I4, respectively, whereby the screw 2I may extend through apertures and Ila into ,the threaded hole I9 and thereby firmly secure the backing strip I4, the base I I and arm togetherjthedowel's I6 further assisting in keying the arm I5 to the base I I so that unwanted turning of the arm will not occur. i

The backing strip I4 is provided with a pair of tapped holes 22, each of which is preferably positioned to register with one of a pair of apertures (not shown) in the vehicle body I0. Each of-the -openings 22' is formed to receive-"oneof"the and base II into theaperture 33.

'commodate such moldingl,

ment of the invention with the exception that the inner end of the arm instead of being provided with studs is provided with a pair of blind threaded apertures or tapped holes 26, each in alinement with apertures 21 and 28 formed in the'base II and backing plate I4, respectively,

' and adapted to accommodate screws 29 in such a manner that said screws extend into the threaded apertures 26 to firmly secure or keythe arm I5 to the base II. In this-embodiment the base I I is secured to the vehicle body In by means .of two dowels 30 and .a threaded attaching stud 34. Each of the dowels 30 is rigidly secured adjacent the ends of the backing plate I4 and is positioned to register with and to extend through one of a pair of apertures (not shown) inthe cowl panel of the vehicle body I0, Alined apertures 3i and 32 formed inthe backing plate I4 and base plate I I are adapted to register with a tapped hole 33 formed in "the inner end: of the arm I5 to permit one threaded end of the .attaching stud 34 to extend through the bar I4 The other threaded end of said studis adapted to extend through an opening in the vehicle body Ill and is adapted to receive a nut for tightening and clamping the base tightly to the body panel. \By

this arrangement of two dowels and one threaded I attaching stud the mirror arm and base may easily and simply besecured or keyed against unwanted turning to the side of the vehicle body panel I0 alinement withthe belt line molding In the several types of belt line molding common or adaptable to modern motor vehicles are illustrated. These views show themanner'of shaping .the inner end 'of the mirror arm I5 to ac- 11; will be noted 'iniFigftfl that the in r' d of the arm I5 completely encases the outer'sur- .fa'ces of the channelshapedtba e plate I I Also the base II. is" of itself suflicientlyrigid so that the reinforcing bar, or backing plate I4 may be eliminated. 'In thisembodiment the mirror arm I5 and base I I are attacheddire'ctly to the 's'ide of the vehicle'body' I0by means of attaching studs 23, as in Fig. 2, each ofwhich passes directly through registering openings in thebody I0 and base II and extendsinto a'blindly terminating threaded hole 351formed'iri'the inner end of the arm I 5; The nut 24 is drawn tightly against the clamping plate 25 tolhold the assembly securely'in 'positi'on on the body.

Figs. 6 an -'7' illustratea cdnstrucnon, g nerally similar tothat shown in. Fig. 2. These views show the diflerences in .th' shape or configuration of two types of belt line molding and illustrate howthe inner ends of the mirror arms I5 and the surfacesof the'backing,plate"l4 may be shaped to conform to'theirregularities of the surfaces of thebas'e molding."v In each instance it will be noted that the reinforcing bar is conembodiments of r gsfs m inclusive.

structedi so 1 that it will; adequately stiffen? the .m'etali molding 'isection H; so; that when .a screwedto'getherztheyain effect form a single base m ember'." i i ti'orr of tliefi moldingtaandr-mountediin eplaceclof-i the said-l removable section inll alinement withfl and entirely betweenfithe separated lends: of "the afixed I portion of the molding thereby: forming-a1 con- Fig: 8pillustratesta devicewby which the inner tinuous portion: of'the' molding',:iand.means se- :end of" the": mirror arm may be :milled to :con- -formc:to a desired configuration-of a belt line -moldings.::.wAs shown, the mirror: arm. l5 isse- -cur'edl-lwithin-:armolding member 31. A milling iwheel i38 having a cuttingl' surface 39 conforming i -towthe contour ofthe belt molding is amxedtito a'lrotating shaft 40. As illustrated, thiswheel' is used tos-milllthe innerend of the ann lPiwto ob-j the desiredshape. i i

Attached to the outer end of thearm, orbracket 5 said reinforcing member; said reinforcingmem ber having a surface shaped toconform to the 1 5 .is:a'suitable mirror headcomprising a'sil'vered -=glass or an equivalent reflector encased within 1 and retained by a metallic backing 4|. Thebackin'g tl is connected to the outer end of the arm l'5 by pivotal means 42 so that the position of i shownin Fig. 2; may be applied to the cowl panel 'o :awehicle body II] in the following manner.

cured l to said" reinforcing-r member" for attaching th'eassembly tothebody; i 1

2.'A mounting for a rear view mirrorjon a-n automobile bodyscomprising-a-hollowsheet"metal i0 base plate having a reinfor'cing member 'housed therein and formed-to replace thesection =ofi garn-is'h o-r belt line; molding between the door and j-hood oi -the automobile, said base plate-having apertures registering with recesses formed within inner surface of said base plate, amirror sup- "porting arm fitting against'said base plate? and provided with pins or studs fitting througli the apertures in said plate into said recesses, screw Y means for locking said reinforcing member; base plate and mirror supportingarm securely toether, a pair of studs extending a from thE l'Sill forcing bar on the side opposite the supporting A section ofthenbelt line molding I3 is removedtisarm, sa'id"studs being arranged for insertion by taking 'out the screws or fastening elements "used to retain that section. Thereinforced plate ,ormoldingstrip ll g to'which the mirror unit I! molding section. The fastening elements23seacured tothe. reinforcing bar 14 are inserted through two correspondingly located apertures in the vehicle body after which nuts 24*are applied -throu'glr apertureshin the'H-automobile body, a clamping memberconnecting saidstuds and slida-blefithereon at the interior of theautomobile body, and nuts threaded on the ends-of said studs to secure the device tosaid automobile body,

3f? Arnounting for a rearview mirror on an automobile body comprising a hollowsheet metal base plate having a reinforcing member housed therein and forined to replace the section of i garat the inside of the cowl panel, thussecuring the35 nish orbelt line molding between the door'and assembly to the vehicle body, It'will be noted .th'at thedescribed 'structure requires no new openings in ,the vehicle body'lll." Hence, theassembly may be very conveniently and readily applied by asimple manual operation. i

It is pointed out, however, that fastening elements other than those employed to retain the belt line molding may be utilized .to secure the assembly to the vehicle body. In the latter event the openings 22 may be arranged wherever desired on the bar M, as they would not have to be alined with any openings in thevehiclebody.

In addition, other suitable means of securing the plate II and consequently the entire. assembly in place may be employed if desired such,

fo-rexample, asby welding. Moreover, the assembly may form a part of a permanently fixed belt line molding rather than being'applied in place of a removable section thereof In the latter event the assembly is mounted on the vehicle body together with the belt line molding and is secured to the body of the latter, the plate II forming a continuous section of the molding. Naturally, in this instance, the means used to secure the molding in place is also used to retainthe mirror assembly. It will be readily appreciated under such circumstances that my assembly may be removable or not, depending upon a the means used to apply it to the vehicle body.

I claim: l. A rear view mirror assembly for a vehicle body having a belt line molding provided with a removable section, comprising a mirror unit and hood of the automobile, said'base plate having apertures "adapted to register with recesses formed within said reinforcing member, 'a mirror supporting arm fitting againstfs'aid base plate w and provided with pins? or studs [extending through the apertures in said plate into saidrecesses, means including a screw and dowels for locking said reinforcing member, base plate and mirror supporting arm securely together, a pair of studs extending from the reinforcing baron the side opposite the supporting arm, said studs being arranged for insertion through apertures in the automobile body, a clamping member conmeeting said studs and slidablethereon at the interior of the automobile body, and nuts threaded on the ends of said studs to securethe device to said automobile body.

4. A rear view mirror assembly, comprising a hollow sheet metal molding section, a reinforc ing. member housed within saidsection, and a mirror supporting bracket attachable to said section and member, the outer wall of the molding section being contoured to provide an outwardly.

projecting portion fittin within a correspondingly shaped hollow portion in the end of the bracket and the reinforcing member having a similarly contoured portion fitting Within the said contoured portion of the "outer wall ,of the molding section, whereby said bracket, molding 5 section and reinforcing member will "be held against relative movement when secured together. I i 5. A rear view mirror assembly for a vehicle body having a belt line moldin provided with a removable section, comprising amirrorunit and a shank attached at its outer end thereto, a hollow attaching plate comprising a single longitudinal section having a reinforcing member in dependent of said plate housedfrom end to end therein, a plurality of devices operatively conmeeting the inner end of said shank to said attaching plate concealing and separatingthe reinforcing member from the inner end of the shank and being shaped and dimensioned like the said section of the molding and mounted in place of the said removable section in alinement with and entirely between the separated ends of the fixed portion of the molding thereby forming a substantially continuous portion of the molding, and means secured to said reinforcing member for attaching the assembly to the body. v

6. A mounting for a rear view mirror on an automobile having a molding along a side of the body, said mounting comprising an elongated base including a sheet metal channel shaped shell shaped, dimensioned and designed substantially like said molding and constructed to form a continuation of the molding, said base also including a metal bar housed from end to end within and concealed by the shell and shaped to fit against the inner fac thereof, a mirror supporting arm extending outwardly from said shell, the inner end of said arm terminating at said shell and separated from said metal bar by the shell, a mirror carried by said arm, means for securing and keying the bar and shell to the end of the arm including a threaded element pass-- ing through the bar and threaded into the inner end of the arm, and fastening means separate from said keying'means and spaced therefrom for securing the bar to the body entirely beyond a separated end of said molding.

I '7. A rear view mirror assembly for a vehicle body having a molding, a mirror-supporting arm extending outwardly from said molding, said molding comprising an outer hollow sheet metal section forming a part thereof, a reinforcing rrnember mounted therein, the reinforcing mem- ;:ber being concealed-by said sheet metal section, "the inner end of said arm terminating at said section and separated from the reinforcing =zmember by said sectin,:the outer wall ofsaid section being contoured to provide an outwardly projecting portion fitting within a correspondsimilarly contoured portion fitting within said contoured portion of the outer wall of said secbody.

tion, means for securing said arm to the base and concealed by said section, and means separate from said securing meansextending from "said reinforcing member, and spaced from said securing means longitudinally of the reinforcing member for attaching the assembly to the vehicle 8; A rear view mirror assembly, comprising a hollow sheet metal molding section, a reinforcing member housed from end to end within said section, and. a mirror supporting bracket attachable to said section and member, the inner end of said bracket terminating at said-section and separated from said reinforcing member by said section, the outer wall of the moldingsection intermediate the ends thereof being contoured to providean, outwardly projecting portion fitting within a, correspondingly shaped hollow portion in the end of; the bracket and the reinforcing member having a similarly contoured portion fitting within the said contoured portion of the outer wall of the molding section, whereby said bracket, molding section and reinforcin member .will be held against relative turning movement when secured together, and means secured to said reinforcing member and concealed by the ,molding section for securing the assembly to a vehicle body outer wall.

LowELL F. sARNnS. 

